What Would Julia Do? Dress

Blogs are weird. I remember a conversation I had with a slightly tipsy acquaintance last year. She told me, “I don’t read your blog anymore. I’m going through a really sh*tty time right now and I just can’t deal with seeing you being all happy all the frikkin’ time.” I thought this comment was kind of rude, but I actually got it. Blogs are weird. You’re only seeing what I care to show you, and yes, I’m pretty happy for pretty much most of the time. If you’re feeling lousy, you might not want to see that. But then, every now and again I’ll have a completely sh*tty day that leaves me feeling quite melancholic.

I hope that acquaintance is reading this right now, as she’ll finally get the schadenfreude fix she was craving.

Even on a day that I pretty much know in advance isn’t going to go well, I can somehow still manage to eek out a refashion.

I started with this dress right here…

Don’t look so happy there, m’dear. This day doesn’t end well.

…and this holey & well-loved Tshirt right here:

Julia Child is kind of my hero.

Swallowing my slow simmering feelings of dread, I pinned the sides to take it in, 1″ at the bust, 1.5″ at the waist, and .5″ at the hips. I got these measurements by just pulling the fabric of the dress taught against my body while I was wearing it to see how I wanted it to fit.

Bust, Waist, and Hips

Then, I filled in the gaps between those pins with more pins.

ALL THE PINS!

I stitched those sides down…

Don’t fret! I serged it when I was done! :)

I gave my new frock a new hem…

Just pin it, then stitch it!

…then pinned something pretty awesome onto the bottom of the skirt.

My apologies for the pins in your face, Julia!

I stitched these two pieces down.

Carefully whirring around the outline of one of my favorite people!

And that’s it!

A funky frock for a lousy day!

WTF, Universe? I thought we were buds.

What would you have done, Julia?

She’s not very helpful, I fear.

So, there ya go. A refashion. Woooooo. Currently feeling rather bummed, disappointed, and uninspired, but I promise to be back to my old obnoxiously happy self soon. In the meantime, I’m just happy to have lovely friends with lovely kitchens that are always there to answer a text that simply says, “Mind if I come over for a minute?”

I agree with Rachel…I feel you share more than most and it hasn’t always been good times. I like that you are usually happy, even when I don’t share those mushy feelings. It helps put me in a better frame of mind.

You seem obnoxiously joyful in a playful way most of the time. It’s why I look at your blog. It is also why i eagerly awaited your appearance on that morning news show (Today, Good Morning America…I forget which). I remember there was something catastrophic on the news that day. You were the ray of sunshine.

Love the dress! Reading your blog when I’m having down days makes me smile! Those are the times that it’s most important to surround yourself with positive influences and your blog is one of them. Thank you!

Actually, this is one of my faves. The new dress looks really comfy and funky at the same time, and having Julia there at all times is a huge plus. Well done, and I hope you feel better soon. In the meantime, *clink*

I’m sorry for the cause of your bad day. I hope it helps to know you inspire and cheer up your readers all the time. That alone is worth more than gold. So many people have little joy and no way to connect with thousands of people every week. Makes you a VIP-very inspiring person.

Very Cute! You inspire me to go and do a quick refashion myself even though my day is less than ideal today; it boosts my mood whenever I’m sewing. I’m going to do make a quick hat! I love to make hats. I’ve made so many I’ve started selling them!

Love your blog, always look forward to reading your next refashion. Just refashioned my 3 granddaughters entire wardrobe for school. They live with me and I always buy them used clothes. They love their one of a kind outfits and your ideas are what insired me. Working on the Christmas dresses next. Keep on blogging.

Hey there! Doesn’t everyone have a bad day once in a while? And if so, you should enjoy it knowing tomorrow is going to be another day with a brighter sun. Not only blogs are weird – so are aquaintances…
Anyway – I’m sending you some of my positive energy today! And also wanted to let you know that I’m always reading your blog to get cheered up when I’m down and unispired, so put on a nice dvd and get comfy on your couch!

As I heard it, when Julia failed her final exam at Le Courdon Bleu ( it was rigged by a vengeful, jealous director) she went back the their apartment, cooked a full meal, including creme caramel, and ate it. That woman knew how to live!

The after is MUCH cuter! I agree with the blog friend you quoted and your thoughts…..we only see what the author wants us to see. I try to keep my blog upbeat, but have been known to grumble or get on my soapbox. I’m off to read some more of your posts.

Love your blog, if I was 30 years younger we’d be BFFs. Can you refashion a refashion? How about moving Julia to a funky top or apron?
My mother was an expert seamstress and my rebellion was not to sew, which I regret, but you are inspiring me for a retirement hobby.

Brilliant, Julia Childs Rocks! This is the perfect dress for a miserable day. By the way, I have down days a lot and your blog is one of the things that brings small joys to my life, so keep it up, your work is valued :)

I hear you on the grumpy day – I finally pulled myself towards myself and dug out a skirt that needed a huge refashion today only for my 1941 Singer to burn its motor out while winding the bobbin :( :( :( but your blog still managed to get a tiny grin out of me – thank you

Now that’s what I call Clever with a capital C! Perfection with necklace and sandals. How can anyone having a bad day not smile looking at you in the Julia shift. Great inspiration for sewing and cooking!

That acquaintance would not like living in Minnesota. The land of MN Nice. (People who are super nice to your face…but then (who knows what goes on behind closed doors or your back!) I think you are fine all the time. On good/happy days and sh#tty days.
On ward. I always LOVE reading your blog.

Thanks for that! Yes you always do look happy and going to swank events and lots of wine and still skinny. Blogs are funny that way. Chances are as annoying as happy can be at times less people would likely want to read about an angry dress slashing episode or you waking up with bedhead. Who knows. Thanks for reminding us ur human too.

Hi! I recently discovered this blog and am currently going back through the whole thing and I am inspired! I would like to begin to do refashioning for myself (I like new clothes too much to keep paying massive amounts of money on them) but one quick question how do you decide where to take in the clothes? Some times you take it in on the back or front but mostly on the sides how do you make that decision?

But you have shared painful things on this blog. You’ve been through a hell of a lot. Refashioning things is a source of joy you share with all of us. That person who was shitting on your happiness like that was really mean spirited. :(

Your blog is a breath of fresh air on a bad day, so I don’t mind your happy self. Cool refash..!! I just bought a sewing machine but for modern quilting. Let’s see if a can change the world one quilt at a time :)

Don’t fret about your fretting friend. This summer was one of the worse (worst?) I’ve ever had. At 63 I’ve spent most of my first summer of retirement at the end of my rope….. I have to honestly say that your blog was one of the very few things I actually looked forward to. Seeing you turn ugly unwanted clothing into cute wearable things helped me realize that even the lowest can be raised up. Thank you! (P.S. Besides all that my adorable 4 year granddaughter is named Jillian! How could I not enjoy your blog?)

Hey, Refashionista – whatever you do, don’t let people tell you who or what you should be. That is one of the downsides of becoming more well-known: more people will have an opinion. I love your blog and your inspiration. You’re doing JUST fine, darlin’.

I found your blog a few weeks ago and really enjoy it. I’m a wannabe sewer (? sewist?)
I know you’ve probably answered a lot of questions, buuuuuuut……when you so easily take in the sides of something, what happens at the armholes/sleeves? is that part fiddly or does that area just get taken in too? golly, maybe I should just try it and see (maybe on one of my husbands t shirts?)

Fuck that acquaintance, seriously. Nothing is wrong with being happy and just because someone can’t handle your brand of sunshine doesn’t mean that you haven’t had your hardships. We know the hard times you’ve been through, no need to justify anything to us. Just hope it gets better for you! I send happy thoughts your way~

Reading your blog always makes me happier, and I have had a fairly grumpy summer! Thank you. I love this darling dress. Go Julia! I do lots of t shirt upcycles. I often use Steam-a-Seam to attach the fabrics. You iron it on and can then place it where you want, kinda like a Post-It note. Then you can permanently iron again, or sew it on. I usually iron it on but then hand stitch around the edge with embroidery floss. Hope you are feeling perkier by now.

Jillian, I love checking in your blog. I found you about a year ago and read your posts from the beginning. You write beautifully, from the heart, encourage new refashionistas, and always entertain, even on a difficult day. That, my friend, is a real gift. I wish I lived nearby so we could share some vino. Take care, Donna in Chi town.

Jillian, you are such an inspiration to me, and from the looks of it, so many others. And like most of them, I also look forward to your blog posts. I’ve seen you share some sad moments but you are mostly a ray of sunshine, regardless of the clouds. I appreciate that. It’s not always an easy world out there for 30-something unmarried ladies. You remind me every day of the ways I can fill my life with friends, family and love. By being proud of what we are capable of accomplishing…even if it’s not always the things we set out for. And that’s just the person side. When we get down to what this blog is about…refashioning…you blow my mind! And you keep me going back to that sewing machine…or holding onto that dress that just one thing is weird with it. My Mom always said you gotta “F*ck it up and make it your own”. You do that soooo well! :) If I lived near you, you could stop over for a few minutes any time!

Just got back from Costa Rica looking for ideas on dress make-overs for some of my longer dresses for our next visit in April. This is my first visit to your AWESOME blog and your ideas are brilliant and creative. I love them all and will be hard at work on 4 dresses. Thank you for sharing your awesome and brilliant ideas with the world. They’re great! <3